


I'm Here to Take a Stand

by JusteAmusant



Series: Because We Can [2]
Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: BAMF!Interrogative!Steve, Case Fic, Danny!Whump, Don'tFuckWithTheFamilyMcDanno, M/M, Protective!Steve, ProtectiveDaddyDanny, kitchen quickie, semi sexy h/c
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-07
Updated: 2014-03-04
Packaged: 2018-01-07 19:37:15
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 18,132
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1123604
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JusteAmusant/pseuds/JusteAmusant
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which someone is out to get revenge on Steve by trying to kill Danny and Grace....Danny will get tricked, Grace will get scared, and Steve will eventually reach his breaking point.<br/></p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [KoaLani](https://archiveofourown.org/users/KoaLani/gifts).
  * Inspired by [Between the Raindrops with You](https://archiveofourown.org/works/1110940) by [JusteAmusant](https://archiveofourown.org/users/JusteAmusant/pseuds/JusteAmusant). 



> This work is part of a series. Prologue is Between the Raindrops With You  
> title and lyrics in Chapter one - Song credit, 'Because We Can' by Bon Jovi
> 
> The prologue begged to be written, the rest snowballed. Hope you enjoy, there will be more to come. Comments welcome, thanks for reading!

_36 hours before Prologue_

  
“Wanna be the one you run to when you need a shoulder, I ain’t a soldier but I’m here to take a stand because we can.” Danny rocked out to Bon Jovi’s latest while cleaning the kitchen before Gracie’s arrival. When he picks her up from school this afternoon, he will have her for a whole week over her Spring Break while Rachel and Stan go to London. Rachel wanted to take Grace with her, but his baby girl put up such a fight to be able to stay home with her Danno and Uncle Steve that his ex had finally relented and put her in Danny’s care for the week. Well, Danny’s and Steve’s.

  
He couldn’t blame his daughter; Danny loved spending leisurely time with Steve, too. Like father, like daughter. Danny smiled as he scrubbed last night’s dinner dishes. Singing along with the most talented artist on his iPod, he rinsed the dishes and put them in the rack to dry. Theatrically throwing the dish towel over his shoulder, he grabbed a freshly cleaned wine glass and held it up to his mouth like a microphone. Pushing off from the counter, he slid across the kitchen floor in his stocking feet and belted the chorus. “I don’t wanna be another wave in the ocean, I am a rock not just another grain of sand! Wanna be the one-“

  
“Wow, Danno. Who knew you had this hidden talent.” Steve’s voice cut into the music as he walked in the front door, arms full of groceries. Steve bit his lip to keep from laughing at his sexy partner unabashedly dancing his way across their kitchen. Danny might wear his emotions on his sleeve and constantly project his personality with no filter for all to see, but Steve knew damned well not many people got to see him act this silly. Feeling special, he walked into the kitchen with his shopping bags. Steve’s smile grew as Danny grooved his way towards him. “Sold out stadium shows yet?”

  
Danny didn’t miss a beat as he threw the towel around Steve’s neck and pulled him down for a kiss. “Love can move a mountain, we can…” another kiss, more tongue this time, “just wrap your arms around me.” Smooch.

Steve didn’t hesitate to drop the bags hanging from his hands and follow the song’s command. Barely putting the wine glass down in time for it not to get broken, Danny found himself being hoisted up onto the counter that he has sterilized about ten minutes earlier. Steve stepped in between Danny’s open thighs and held Danny’s mouth tight against his own. As the song blared, Steve’s hips gyrated against Danny’s while his tongue tangled with his partner’s. Ripping open Danny’s dress shirt, Steve kissed the newly exposed skin and ran his hands along Danny’s torso.  
“Damn, babe,” Danny gasped. “That was my favorite shirt!” His hands fisted in Steve’s hair as Steve’s deliciously hot mouth made its way down Danny’s body.

  
“No it wasn’t,” Steve’s mouth burned a trail along Danny’s neck, his chest.

  
“I paid full price for it!” Danny could barely think straight enough to rile Steve in his usual manner. Not with Steve’s mouth on his collarbone and Steve’s hands undoing his belt.

  
“I’ll buy you a new one,” Steve growled as he sucked on the skin just next to the gold cross Danny wore around his neck. Tonguing the gold piece of jewelry before making his way towards Danny’s belly button, he gripped his lover’s slacks and pulled them down off his legs, so that they were hanging around Danny’s ankles against the kitchen cabinets.

  
“Jesus fucking Christ, Steven.” Danny’s head fell back when he felt Steve’s strong fingers wrap around his thick cock. “I should sing more often.” Returning the favor and reaching his own hand down Steve’s pants, he freed the Seal’s own erection from his straining jeans. Pumping their strong hands up and down each other, their mouths met again in an aggressive and demanding kiss.  
“Oh, God.” Steve had been planning to use his mouth on Danny, but couldn’t make himself move. Pressing his forehead against Danny’s, his own hand moved faster in response to the friction he was getting from Danny’s. “Danny, I want-“ he gasped as he felt Danny’s strong fingers squeeze him, felt Danny’s thumb brush the tip as his hand pumped up and down on Steve’s cock. His words turned into a moan as he used his remaining brain power to return the favor. The song had long since ended, the only sounds in the kitchen now coming from the two men…and the phone that had started ringing. His? Danny’s? The sound barely registered in the midst of his sexual haze.

  
“Jesus, Steve, don’t stop, babe. Please.” They ignored the incoming call and continued to move their hands faster on each other. “Steve. Steve yes… don’t stop, keep- ahhhhh.” Danny came into Steve’s hand seconds before Steve did the same, their hands slowly milking each other to their shared finish. Danny’s head tilted back onto the cabinet and Steve’s fell forward onto Danny’s shoulder.

  
“Who the fuck is calling right now?” Steve willed his breathing to slow. “I should probably…”

  
“Yeah,” Danny agreed. He reached for the dish towel he had been using, quickly wiped off his hand before tossing it to Steve. Doing the same, Steve reached for his phone and tucked it against his shoulder as he cleaned his hands. “McGarrett,” he snapped into the phone.

  
Danny vaulted himself off of the counter to wash his hands properly. He gave Steve an inquiring look as he dried his hands.

  
“Got it. We’re on our way.” He ended the call and headed towards the sink to do the same. “Grab a new shirt, lover. We’ve got a case.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, this is turning into a Chapter fic. Here's the second chapter, more to come. I promise the wait won't be as long for the next one; thanks for reading and sticking with me! Prologue is ' Between the Raindrops With You ' 
> 
> Thanks to KoaLani for the beta! Any mistakes are my own.

Steve and Danny burst through the doors of 5-0 to find their teammates hard at work on the main computer.

  
“Kono. Chin. What have we got so far?” Quickie in the kitchen set aside in a happy part of his brain to visit later, Steve was all business now. “Who are we looking for?”

  
Kono was ready with the details. “What we’ve got is a perp who takes pleasure in seducing rich older ladies, getting invited into their homes, and stealing their jewelry while they sleep.” Kono held up a hand to stop Danny before he could get started. “I know, I know, oldest thieving story in the book. But he has gotten away with it at least four times in the last two months, and likely tens of times before that.” She whooshed a driver’s license picture onto the big screen for them all to see. “As for the who, our main suspect is Raymond Sellers, no previous record, not even a speeding ticket. Seems he has been thieving for quite some time, but has never been caught. He was seen leaving a restaurant in Oahu with our most recent victim two nights ago by the hostess.”

  
Steve looked at the screen while Kono talked, at the face of a young man who had a slight tilt to his chin and a fuck-you expression on his face. The suspect’s sulky features did little to hide his youth and inexperience; Christ, he looked like he wasn’t even old enough to order a drink. Steve took a quick sideline glance towards Danny, and knew his partner was thinking the same thing.

  
“This guy? Joey P. Quarterback? How the hell does a baby like him get women into bed? He looks like he should be doing his homework and promising to be home by curfew, not charming women out of their panties and their pearls.” Danny shifted his puzzled glance from the screen to Steve. Steve had to keep his hint of a smile from turning into a full blown grin. His Danno sure had a way with words. Steve could listen to him bitch, listen to him argue, listen to his cocksure voice all damn day long and never get tired of it. In fact he usually did spend his days listening to Danny, looking at Danny, being with Danny.

  
Chin’s voice discussing the perp’s penchant for fancy restaurants brought Steve out of his reverie. _Focus, Steven._ Even his inner voice was starting to sound blonde, blue-eyed, and hot-headed. He reluctantly drew his gaze from Danny’s face and looked back at the young suspect on the screen.

  
Chin pretended not to notice his boss’s divided attention. Unable to keep the smile out of his voice, he continued. “All the places the victims say they went to with him have been four and five star joints. Guess the guy makes a pretty good dishonest living. He doesn’t hurt the women. He just wines and dines his way into their homes, shows them a good time, and leaves them in the morning a little bit poorer than when he arrived.” Chin looked at his teammates, waiting for opinions.

  
Steve folded his arms across his chest, widened his stance a bit, working through what he had just been told. “Okay, this doesn’t make sense. A young guy with an older woman, going to fancy restaurants, spending all night in their company, and he hasn’t been IDed and caught yet? This should be a cut-and-dried case.” His words were interrupted by a ringing cell phone. He kept talking as Danny retreated from the table to take the call. “Why us? Why isn’t HPD on this?”

  
Kono fielded that question. “Apparently he hasn’t been limiting his escapades to Hawai’i. He got his start fleecing female tourists in Vegas. Easy pickings when they are on vacation in a city that was made to take your money, yeah? He then spent some time in California before desiring the island life and buying a plane ticket that landed him here. He’s quick enough and jumps around enough that no one has been able to pin anything on him.”

  
Chin interjected. “Plus, he makes a habit of targeting lonely, married women. So,-“

  
Steve picked up on his line of thinking. “So, the women don’t press charges and admit to being had –in more ways than one- because doing so would be admitting that they cheated on their husbands.”

  
“Right,” Chin agreed. “And what’s a few missing necklaces when you have twenty more, and the money to buy replacements?”

  
Kono continued. “A couple of guys in HPD had been following his case since he hit Hawai’i, and dug up the previous –suspected- related cases. But because of who his latest victim is, the Governor wanted us to handle it.” She looked up at Steve. “His two most recent stash acquisitions came from two very close personal friends of the Governor’s. He’s getting ballsy. Wealthy women are completely his style, but even wealthier prominent women? It’s a noticeable jump. Our suspect hasn’t hurt a victim so far, but Denning doesn’t want to take any chances. He wants us to uh, discreetly get this guy before he goes on his next ‘date.’” She stopped talking and they all turned as Danny hurried back to the desk. “Everything okay, brah?” she asked.

  
“Yeah. That was Gracie’s school. I have to go pick her up.” Danny seemed confused. “I’m an idiot and I didn’t realize that they have early dismissal on the Friday before Spring Break. I’m sure Rachel told me, but I must have forgotten.” He looked at Steve, who looked down, thinking about this morning and feeling only a little bit guilty.

  
 _Steve stepped in between Danny’s open thighs and held Danny’s mouth tight against his own._

  
Steve was sure he knew what had made Danny so distracted. Oops.

  
 _Ripping open Danny’s dress shirt, Steve kissed the newly exposed skin and ran his hands along Danny’s torso._

  
Steve didn’t want Gracie to be stuck waiting for a ride of course, but he wasn’t sorry he could muddle Danny’s mind as easily as Danny muddled his own.

  
 _“Danny, I want-“ he gasped as he felt Danny’s strong fingers squeeze him, felt Danny’s thumb brush the tip as his hand pumped up and down on Steve’s cock._

  
Heat rushed through Steve’s body as he thought about Danny’s hands on him, their bodies pressing against each other and their mouths melded together. Steve’s eyes met his lover’s, knew he was thinking about their sweat session that morning as well. Danny shoved his phone back in his pocket and reached for his keys, a hint of pink on his cheeks. Gesturing to the computer, he made a noise. “Uh…”

  
“Go.” Steve said. “We can handle this one in our sleep. Go get Gracie, stay with her today. I’ll catch you up when I get home.” No one missed the easy way he referred to Danny and Grace staying at Steve’s house over her Spring Break. Everyone knew Danny spent most of his time there anyway. It was becoming easier for Steve to refer to it as ‘home’ or ‘their place’ instead of merely thinking about it as a house that used to be his parent’s that he happened to be living in. It was a big house, and when Steve was in it alone it just felt…empty. Hollow. Danny’s energy livened up the place, and when they –uh, when Danny- had Gracie for the weekends, or in this case the week, she just made it that much brighter.

  
He needed to be careful. He was getting too used to Danny being there, too used to saying ‘we’. This thing between them was still kind of new, new enough that they hadn’t officially announced it anyway. He knew Chin and Kono weren’t stupid, but no need to take out an ad in the paper headlined “Everyone Thinks We Are A Couple Anyway, So We Decided To Give It A Shot!” Better not to get too excited or complacent, because what was he going to do when Danny decided it was too much, that Steve was too reckless and too impulsive and Danny didn’t want to handle his crazy anymore? The fewer people who knew about them, the better, to Steve’s mind. That way when –no, God, not when, if….could he hope for if? – IF Danny leaves him to lead a calmer, more normal life, Steve can deal with the pain alone.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for sticking with me. I beat up on Danny a bit in this one...

**Chapter 3 -**

 

“This better be the last time I hear from you. You gonna tell me who you are?” Silence, and this time a small chuckle. “Dammit!” Steve slammed his office phone down in frustration. He’d been in his office since Danny left, trying to find out more about Raymond Sellers. It was a slow day for cases if his main focus was tracking down a petty thief. Steve wasn’t complaining, hopefully no dire cases demanding his attention would come up in the next 48 hours. He would be quick about this one as a favor to the Governor, and with any luck he would be able to wrap it up before it ate too much into his weekend with Danny and Grace.

Kono poked her head into his office, having heard his yell from across the main room. “Everything okay, boss?”

Steve let out a noisy breath of irritation. “That’s like the tenth dead call I’ve had today. Someone keeps calling and then hanging up as soon as I answer. I know it’s the same caller each time. It wouldn’t be the first time someone has tried to mess with me, but it’s annoying as fuck.” He made a helpless gesture towards Kono. “It’s not like I can stop answering my work line.”

“Well, I’d offer to compile a list of suspects made up of people you’ve pissed off recently, but no one would see me for days.” She offered her boss a quick smile, and was about to make another offer as well but Steve held up a hand.

“He’s only on the line for about ten seconds at a time. It’d be useless to try and trace it. Not to mention a waste of resources. It’s probably some crank, getting his rocks off by trying to rile us, and wasting our time.” He ran a hand through his hair as he stood and walked around the desk.

Kono nodded, somewhat sympathetically. She had been the target of some harassment calls a time or two, and while most were harmless, they had a way of getting under your skin. Changing subjects, she gave Steve an update on the case. “Shortly after Danny left, I had a call from Governor Denning. He’s putting the pressure on us to find Sellers. Denning is attending his sister’s birthday bash tomorrow night at the Honolulu Westin and doesn’t want any ‘complications’.” Kono’s mouth lifted up as she recalled the Governor’s term for the thefts that have been occurring. “I think he’s nervous that Sellers will target someone in his family. So I sent an image of Raymond’s baby face to all of the hotels within a twenty-mile radius, with instructions to notify us if he is spotted.”

“Good thinking.” Taking a quick glance out to the offices, he asked, “Where’s Chin?”

“He’s been gone awhile, following up with the woman who was most recently targeted by Raymond Sellers. Trying to figure out where he might be staying in between jobs.” Kono’s cell phone rang, and Steve pulled out his own cell to shoot Danny a quick text while she was on the phone.

He didn’t have time to type out three words before Kono hung up. “That was the front desk clerk at the Waikiki Marriott. He said he thinks Raymond Sellers just left his hotel. The clerk was friendly, asked what our possible suspect was doing on this beautiful Friday afternoon. Guy matching Sellers’ description told him he was going for a run on Kahanamoku beach.” She filled Steve in on what Raymond was seen wearing.

Text to Danny on hold, Steve and Kono were out the door seconds before Steve’s office phone rang yet again.

\- - - - - - - - - - - -

“Okay, he’s got about a fifteen minute lead on us. If he really did go out for a run, maybe we can try to catch him on his way back. You head north, I’ll head south, yell if you get him.” Steve instructed. He and Kono put in their earpieces, then took off in opposite directions. Steve moved at a decent jog down the shoreline, eyes studying the beach-goers for once that looked like Raymond Sellers.

He had to keep his mind from straying to thoughts of Danny. He kind of wished he had been able to finish the naughty text he had been about to send him back in his office before Kono interrupted him. His mouth curled up as he thought about what Danny’s response would have been. A long-winded lecture about the perils and impropriety of ‘sexting’ when Danny was around his impressionable young daughter – only Danny could be long-winded via text – probably followed by a response even dirtier than the original message.

Eyes still scanning, they halted on a jogging figure headed in his direction. Steve couldn’t make out his face yet but the clothing matched. He tapped his earpiece. “Think I’ve got him.”

“Copy.” He heard Kono’s voice in his ear as he picked up his pace. “Raymond Sellers, freeze, 5-0!” At Sellers’ startled look, Steve moved in. Sellers side-stepped, tried to feint left but was slowed by the dry sand he was headed into. Steve ducked his head low and butted his shoulder into Sellers’ abdomen.

“You the one stealing jewels off of cheating housewives?” Steve flipped Sellers over so he was on his belly and sat on his thighs, one hand encapsulating the perp’s wrists, one grabbing his hair. At Raymond’s silence, he let his head slam down onto the sand.

“Get the fuck off me!” Raymond couldn’t do much to fight back with the other man holding his wrists behind his back. Steve let the man’s head fall onto the sand again, got a tighter grip on his hair and roughly pulled his chin up once more. “Now, that language is just plain disrespectful. Try again.” The sooner he could wrangle a confession out of this guy, the sooner he could get home to Danny and Grace and start their weekend.

“I’m sorry. Please get the fuck off me.” Raymond’s smart mouth caused Steve to look at Kono, who had just approached, as if to say Can you believe this guy? Kono smirked and shook her head slightly. “You obviously have no idea who you’re dealing with, brah.” Only slightly out of breath, she backed up a step in anticipation of Steve hauling the guy to his feet, still keeping Raymond’s hands behind his own back and securing the thief’s wrists with a zip tie pulled from the pocket of Steve’s cargos.

Steve gave Sellers a shake. “Why don’t you come down to the station with us and we’ll let you confess, on the record. Better yet, why don’t I call the Governor, and you can personally explain to him why you fleeced two of his friends out of almost ten thousand worth of jewels?” Steve pushed the man to walk in front of him towards the parking lot that held Kono’s car and his truck.

Raymond scoffed. “You don’t have anything on me.” He was trying for arrogance, but Steve could hear the slight nervousness in his voice. “I didn’t-“

“Save it.” Kono opened the backseat passenger door with a fake flourish. “In you go, Ray-Ray.”

Steve felt his phone vibrate in his pocket as he unceremoniously dumped ‘Ray-Ray’ into the backseat of Kono’s car. He checked his caller ID and grinned. “Hey, Gracie!” He couldn’t wait to get home and feel her enthusiastic hug, and to wrap her in his arms.

Her anxious little voice came through the phone. “Uncle Steve? How come no one has come to pick me up?”

Steve’s smile fell from his face in a millisecond. “What? You aren’t with Danno?” Steve waved Kono on to go ahead to the station, pointed to his phone to say _I’ll call you later._

“I thought I could stay with you guys this weekend!” Grace wailed. “I’m at school waiting for you guys to come get me!”

What the fuck? Steve sprinted towards his truck, jumped into the driver’s seat and revved the engine. He was out of the parking lot before his next words were out of his mouth. “Listen to me, baby, I am on my way, okay?” What the fuck, _what the fuck?_ Danny went to pick her up three hours ago. “Are you with a teacher right now?” Steve instinctively checked his rearview mirror for a tail.

“Yes.” Gracie’s voice lowered, as if she was trying to keep a secret. “I’m with Miss Torres. I don’t think she’s very happy right now. Uncle Steve, where’s Danno? Is he okay?”

Steve was fast weaving his way in and out of traffic, constantly switching lanes to gain seconds. “Gracie, listen to me, okay baby? You stay inside. Do not leave that school until I come to get you. I will be there in less than ten minutes. Do not step outside, you hear me?”

Grace’s voice was still uncertain, but he knew she would do as she was told. “Yes, Uncle Steve.”

He fought to keep his voice steady. “It’s okay, baby. I’m going to call Danno and I will see you soon, okay?” He hung up with her sweet but worried voice replaying in his mind as he speed-dialed Danny. No answer.

Steve pressed the gas pedal down as far as it would go and hit redial.

\- - - - - - - - - - - - -

Danny’s head felt like it weighed thirty pounds. He tried to lift it, succeeded for about a half an inch, then had to let it fall. Ow. It landed on something hard. Asphalt? He opened his eyes with not a little difficulty. Yep, asphalt. Where the hell was he? Grace. He had been on his way to pick up Gracie. Oh, God. Something pinched in his side, and his stomach turned when he tried to roll to his knees. He flexed his toes, then his calves, then moved his legs. Doing the same with his fingers, hands, arms, a searing pain shot through his right forearm when he tried to brace a hand on the ground. His fingers met gravel. He was on the shoulder of the road...which road? He took in a slow breath before carefully trying to sit up again. Where was Grace? He didn’t remember making it to her school. Fear for her gripped his chest even as he forced himself to take a second and think, remember. It would be his luck to get pulled over by a motorcycle cop on his way to get Gracie, when he was already running late. He’s a cop for God’s sake, he shouldn’t be the one getting pulled over. He’d gotten out of the car to flash his badge and tell the guy, most likely a rookie, that he would be on his merry way if it was all the same to him, and next thing he knew he had felt a fist in his gut and meaty arms around his torso.

What the hell had that been about? Danny knew he was probably on a lot of people’s shit lists. It was a given in his line of work. He and Steve had run into half-assed revenge attempts on their lives before, but no one had really gotten close enough to do any real damage. Random beating? Perhaps, but unlikely. He could figure out the why later, right now he needed the where, and the means to check on Grace. Hugging his injured arm to his chest – he looked down, saw blood, and refocused on getting his bearings – he used his left arm to lever himself to his knees. He gingerly lifted himself to his feet, using his car for support. He took another look at his right arm, saw the ragged knife slice cutting three inches across the underside of his forearm. Memories of a hasty attack flooded his brain. He fuzzily remembered throwing his arms up at the last second to block his face after his assailant had punched him in the gut and then come at him with a switchblade.

Bracing himself against his car, he shrugged out of his left shirtsleeve with a wince. Letting it drop behind him, he reached around his front and took hold of the hanging shirt, right arm still in its sleeve. He wrapped the excess shirt fabric tight around the slash on his forearm to staunch the bleeding, emitting a short groan of pain. He reached into his pocket with a shred of hope that his cell would be in it…Oh, thank God. Mindful of the pain in his side – no doubt from the several punches his assailant landed there- he made his way to the driver’s side of the vehicle, phone in hand, knowing he needed to get out of there fast in case his attacker was still near. He had probably dumped him a while ago and was likely long gone, but Danny didn’t intend to hang around and find out. Plus, he had to get to Grace. _Please, please let Gracie be safe._

Danny turned the key in the ignition, sent gravel flying when he peeled onto the road. His hand shook as he dialed Steve.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

What the hell? Danny had punched in Steve’s cell number and gotten nothing but a dead line when he tried to key in the numbers. He knew he had the digits right, he could recite Steve’s phone number faster than he could his own. He had been so grateful that he still had his cell in his pocket that he had pulled it out and dialed practically by feel as he hit the gas to get the hell back to HQ. Looking in his rearview mirror to make sure no one was behind him, he pulled to the side of the road yet again. Last thing he needed was to get himself into a fucking car accident. Pulling over, he glanced down at his cell phone. Except it wasn’t his cell. He tapped out of the keypad dial screen. Nothing was on the smart screen except for the message box, indicating one unread message. He opened it.

 

_Whose death do you think will hit him the hardest? Yours, or your daughter’s?_

 

“No,” Danny breathed. “No, no, no!” Trying again in vain to dial an outgoing call, Danny let loose a string of curses to do his Jersey heritage proud. Gracie. _Gracie, I’m coming baby._ Except he didn’t have the first clue where she was. Had his attacker said anything about coming after Grace? Given any clue as to who he was? Jumbled words swam around his brain, something important floating just beyond reach. Danny couldn’t think straight after reading that text, all his brainpower directed towards thoughts of Grace. Danny swore again, double checked the phone, and then threw it out the window. Fuck them if he they were trying to keep tabs on him. He hit the gas and headed straight for Gracie’s school

. - - - - - - - - - - - - -

“Mr. Williams! What brings you here?” The assistant principal intercepted Danny as he burst through the academy doors.

“Grace. Grace, where’s Grace?” Danny gripped her shoulders, looked past her even as he asked the question to scan the hallways.

“Mr. Williams, is everything okay?” Her eyes widened at the makeshift dressing on his right arm, the torn knee on his slacks. Danny gave her a small shake. “Where is my daughter?”

“Please! Please, calm down. As far as I know, Grace is with Commander McGarrett. He just picked her up about ten minutes ago. He’s on her list of approved guardians to take her off of school grounds.” She looked puzzled.

Danny only slightly loosened his grip on her shoulders. “You’re sure. You’re sure it was Steve who picked her up?”

“I’m positive. I saw her run to him down the hall. She called his name, very happy to see him. Miss Torres and I were both here when he walked through the same doors you just did.” She looked at him worriedly. “Mr. Williams, do you need medical attention?”

Danny let out a breath. Thank God. He knew his daughter would be okay, at least for the moment, if she was with Steve. But what if something happened to both of them? He ignored her question. “Ms. Dillon, I need to use a phone. Now.”

\- - - - - - - - - - - - -

“Oh-kay!” Steve’s large hand held Gracie’s tiny one as he led her into his office at 5-0 and deposited her into his desk chair. “You, my lady, sit here while I go talk to Chin about some exciting plans that we have set up for you this weekend. Okay?” Steve hoped his smile would be infectious. His precious little girl – er, Danny’s precious little girl- hadn’t wiped the frown off her face that had settled in after her excitement at seeing him had faded.

The sadness in her eyes when she looked up at him just about killed Steve. “Uncle Steve, where’s Danno?” How could he lie to her when her eyes looked directly into his like that, so full of trust?

Steve crouched down in front of her. Her little hand was still holding tight to his. “Gracie, listen, I think Danno’s just having some cell phone trouble. He will call as soon as he can.” He hated to leave her, but he had to be able to get to their table computer, had to be able to talk to Chin-and Kono, when she returned from taking Raymond Sellers to HPD- and figure out where the hell Danny could be.

“He’s in trouble, isn’t he? On the phone, you sounded surprised that he hadn’t come to get me yet.” Damn. For a kid, she was too damn perceptive.

He couldn’t lie to her. Not completely. He squeezed her hand. “He might be. Your daddy is tough though, huh? Toughest guy in the world. But he might need a little help. So I need to go do some work and see if I can help him. Can you sit here for me while I do that? I am going to be right through these glass doors. You can keep your eye on me, and I promise I won’t leave without coming back to get you. Deal?” He held out the hand that she wasn’t keeping hostage, made it into a fist. After a brief moment, she bumped his fist with hers. “Good girl. I love you.”

Steve gave her hand another squeeze before he headed to the main computer where Chin was waiting. He hadn’t said those three words to another living human being in a very long time. He hadn’t even thought about them before they had come tumbling out of his mouth, out of his heart. He did. He loved that little girl with every fiber of his being. He would kill for her, die for her.

And he would do the same for the man that had helped bring her into this world. Ass back in gear, he braced his strong arms on the table computer and met Chin’s determined gaze. “Chin. Let’s find Danno.”

\- - - - - - - - - - - - -

The phone on the desk let out a subdued ring. Grace was sitting cross-legged in Uncle Steve’s chair, playing solitaire on his computer. She looked out Uncle Steve’s glass office windows and saw him talking on his cell phone. He looked busy. Should she interrupt him? She wasn’t sure which call was more important. He was on his cell phone but now the phone on his desk was ringing too. Grace knew that Uncle Steve was a very important person, and that he always had to answer his phones, just like her Danno. But he was already on the phone. Maybe she should help. Mommy had taught her how to take messages if she needed to, but she rarely answered the phone at home. The housekeeper usually did that. Still, Grace knew that she should make a note if someone important called. What if this was someone important?

Maybe she should answer this phone. She tried to think of how Miss Malia answered their house phone. She would do the same, only she should change the name, right? Scrunching her face and trying to remember Uncle Steve’s last name, she picked up his phone.

“Mister Steve McGarrett’s phone?” She spoke clearly into the speaker, like she had been taught. She was confused though, because no one answered her back. “Hello?” She thought she heard someone breathing. “Hello?” she said again. Shrugging, she hung up and went back to her game.

\- - - - - - - - - - - -

“McGarrett.” Steve answered his cell phone brusquely. He didn’t recognize the number of the incoming call. His eyes were still on the projected computer screen that Chin was flinging locations onto, trying to pinpoint where Danny might be. He wouldn’t have gone anywhere other than Grace’s school when he left 5-0. Whatever detour he took, it wasn’t of his own choosing.

“Steve.” Danny’s voice came straight through the phone and into Steve’s bloodstream. Steve shut his eyes for a second, letting the sound of his partner’s voice wash over him.

“Danny.” There were a million questions to be asked, a hundred things to be said but all that came out was one word. It communicated enough, for now. He exhaled, looked at Chin and nodded. Gathering himself, he spoke again. “Danny. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine Steve, I’m fine.” Anyone who didn’t know Danny as well as Steve did would have missed the faint catch in his voice. “Steve, please tell me you have Grace. Tell me she’s safe.”

Steve looked at the little girl in question, still safely ensconced in his office. “She’s with me, Danny, at HQ. I have her. She’s fine. She called me from school. What the hell happened? No, nevermind. Tell me when you get here.” A horrible thought occurred to him. “Wait, where are you calling from? Are you able to get here?”

“I’m calling from Grace’s school. I came here because, because I wasn’t sure if she-“ Danny’s voice caught. Steve could feel his partner steeling himself through the phone. Danny spoke again. “I’m fine. I’m on my way to you.”

Steve’s throat tightened. _On my way to you_. Those words meant so much now. He clicked off from that conversation, onto another one when his call waiting beeped in his ear.

“Boss?” It was Kono’s voice in his ear now, and she sounded a bit confused. “Kono, what’s up.” Steve tried to quietly clear his throat. He put her on speaker phone and set the phone on the table computer. He hoped they didn’t have a new case. He had just about all he could handle right now.

“I took Raymond Sellers to HPD. I figured they could deal with the tedium of questioning him, you know? Since it was just thefts and all. But when we got there, he tried to start bargaining with me and refused to talk to anyone else.”

Chin jumped in. “Aw, c’mon cuz, everyone knows you have nerves of steel. A little interrogation alone won’t break you, huh?” Chin’s words were teasing, but also full of pride in his cousin.

“Yeah, well.” Any other day, Kono would have baited him right back. She could tell she was on speaker phone. That was fine, but it was Steve who really needed to hear this. “It’s just that, when I told him what we had on him, told him his thieving days were over…you know, the usual? He wasn’t cocky, or arrogant, or anything. He almost broke, boss. He said he knew something that would be of use to you, something that might keep him out of jail.”

Steve rolled his eyes. “What could he possibly know that could help his case?”

Kono paused, just for a moment. “He said, and I quote, ‘I know who’s been calling McGarrett’.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to one Raymond Sellers, Steve and Danny get some insight into who wants Grace and Danny dead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for waiting...this chapter is longer than the others; Steve and Danny are ready to go on the offensive. Also includes BAMF!Interrogative Steve, cuddly!Grace, and some much needed McDanno semi-sexy h/c  
> Thanks for reading, love when you leave feedback!

**Chapter 5**

**_Friday evening, 18:00_ **

Steve burst into the interrogation room of 5-0, where Raymond Sellers sat with his arms handcuffed to each armrest of the solitary chair in the room. Steve stared down the man he had tackled on the beach just a few hours earlier. He strode over to the chair, put a hand on either armrest, and stuck his face mere inches from Raymond’s.

“You better not be playing me, you fucker.” Steve’s voice was coated in steel. “For the sake of your own safety, I want you to think very carefully before answering my next question.” Steve could see the man swallow hard. “Were you telling the truth earlier when you told Officer Kalakaua that you know who has been calling my office?”

“I want immunity from jail time.” Raymond’s voice had a slight shake but he put arrogance behind the words nonetheless.

Steve gave a humorless laugh and ground his hands against Raymond’s wrists, pushing the veiny undersides into the hard edges of the chair’s armrests. “You aren’t exactly in a position to negotiate, Ray-Ray.” Steve pressed down harder, driving the metal corners of the armrests into the pressure points on Raymond’s wrists. The angry SEAL in Steve almost enjoyed the sound of pain that emerged from the other man’s throat. He didn’t loosen his grip as he ground soft flesh against rough metal.

“Shit! Yes, I was telling the truth. Stop, stop!” Raymond pleaded. Steve dug in once more before backing off and taking his hands off of Sellers, who now had sweat beading on his forehead.

“Who is it, and why did they tell you?” Steve drew up to his full height, folded his arms and looked down at Sellers.

Sellers flexed his fingers and let out an audible exhale before responding. “I think it’s my partner. Hey!” When Steve shook his head and threateningly stepped close to Raymond again, the man talked faster. “I use the term loosely. We just started ‘working’ together a couple weeks ago. I have nothing to do with the calls. My guess, he’s building up to something big, and trying to get under your skin in the meantime.”

“Why would a smooth operator like you need a partner? And what do you mean, building up to something big?” Steve was losing patience.

Sellers craned his neck, working it side to side as he tried to rearrange himself more comfortably in his restrained position. “I was doing pretty well. Had some good hauls, brought in some good money. But then this guy tracks me down, says he can help me score even bigger.” He looked down, exasperated. “Dude can you take these cuffs off? They are digging into my skin. My wrists burn like a motherfucker, thanks to you.”

Steve ignored him. “What’s his name?”

Raymond squared his jaw, but thought better of not answering. “Gideon. I don’t know if it’s a first name or a last name. That’s all he ever told me, and I didn’t ask too many questions, you know? Anyway he must have some connections because he’s the one who gave me the info on the last two jobs I did. And he only asked for a twenty percent cut, so I thought hey, what the hell, I’ll give it a shot. After the first new mark was such a huge success, I went to his place, gave him his cut and he set me up with the next one.”

Gideon’s involvement explained the jump towards wealthier individuals that Kono had found when reviewing the cases. “And you didn’t find it odd that some guy you had never met before just offered to help you out of the blue?” Maybe he was stupider than Steve thought.

“Money doesn’t ask questions, brah, you know what I’m saying?”

“Tell me about the phone calls. And don’t dance around me, Ray, or I swear to God the pain in your wrists will feel like a walk in the fucking park compared to what I’ll do to the rest of you. Start at the beginning.” Wanting to avoid as much jail time as possible and get away from the SEAL’s barely restrained violent tendencies, Raymond Sellers told him all he knew about Gideon, which wasn’t much considering he had only known the man a few weeks. He ran through it in bullet points. Mid-thirties, a bit of a stomach paunch but seems to be in decent shape, trimmed beard and black hair. Knows how to handle a gun and knows his way around the island, he must have been here a while. “It was all him making those phone calls; I had nothing to do with those. I may be a thief, but I’m no killer.”

“How did you even know about the phone calls when you bargained with Officer Kalakaua? They just started today. How would you know that I’ve been receiving them if you aren’t the one making them?” Steve knew they couldn’t all be from Raymond seeing as how he had been in custody for almost three hours, but the earlier ones might have been.

“Because he made a couple of them while I was at his place this morning. He was pretty precise about the timing. I said hey, I have better places to be if you’re just gonna be on the phone, but the calls didn’t last long so I stuck around. When he called you, the volume on his cell had been loud enough that I could hear you answer by name on the other end of the line. When you tackled me today and said you were 5-0, I put two and two together.” Ray shook his cuffs again, but at the lack of response from Steve save for his impending death stare, he cursed and eventually continued. “After he hung up the second time, he mentioned going after the head of 5-0. I thought he meant he wanted you to be my next job, thought he wanted me to steal something from you. Then he got weird, man.”

“Weird how?” Steve had yet to show a reaction to any of this information.

“He kind of laughed at me and shook his head. He pulled out a gun and looked at it, I don’t know, almost fondly, you know? His voice got real quiet and he said ‘no, I will be the one doing the stealing.’ He looked at me and his eyes were…crazy. Like he was looking at me, but also looking past me, or something. I don’t know, it was weird. Anyway, then he said ‘I’m going to take what’s his, just like he took what’s mine.’ He’s out for blood, man. Then he just kept holding the gun and was kind of muttering to himself. “I told him I wanted no part of it. Even a petty burglar like me knows you’re a former SEAL. I told him he was fucking crazy.” Raymond let out a sound of disbelief. “Gideon said hey, he had helped me, now it was my turn to help him. Then he turned the gun on me and said I could either help him or get a bullet in the brain. Guess which option I chose?”

Steve had been mentally recording every detail, knew that Chin was doing the same from the other side of the wall. “What’s he making you do?”

Raymond answered the SEAL’s question with a street address. “I’m supposed to break in. Tonight.”

Steve’s fists clenched when he heard Raymond say Steve’s home address. “Okay. So he’s tapping into your skill set. What does he want you to steal?”

“Nothing.”

Steve erupted. He took two long strides towards Sellers and gripped his shirt, hauled his ass off the chair as far as the handcuffs would allow. “What did I tell you about lying to me?” Steve gave him a violent shake.

“I’m not lying! He doesn’t want me to steal anything!” Raymond was hanging like a limp rag doll in Steve’s iron grip. “He just asked me to case the joint, get a lay of the land. He wanted me to report back with a floorplan. Bedrooms, points of entry and exit, that sort of thing.” Raymond was helpless in Steve’s unyielding grip. In that moment Ray realized he was more scared of Steve McGarrett than he was of Gideon, and that he had better get on the SEALs good side. Something about Gideon had rubbed him the wrong way from the first, and if McGarrett could help protect him then Ray would tell him everything he knew. Ray hadn’t been lying when he had told McGarrett that he was no killer, plus, he wasn’t the kind of guy that enjoyed seeing an innocent little girl get hurt, and he had a sickening feeling that was part of Gideon’s eventual plan. He told Steve why, told him what he had seen when making the second money drop to Gideon that morning. “He has pictures of you and of another dude about your age with lighter hair and lighter eyes. A couple of them are pretty-” what word might not get his face smashed? “-compromising.”

Ray’s stomach turned when the grip on his shirt got impossibly tighter and his wrists burned where the raw skin was being yanked against the metal cuffs. Even in the precarious position he was in, his body at the SEAL’s mercy, Ray told him the rest. “There are also some shots of a little girl with brown hair and brown eyes. He has a board on his wall full of pictures of combinations of the three of you. I think something is gonna go down tomorrow. He has a calendar near the photos. Tomorrow’s date had a star on it, next to the name ‘Joey’.” Raymond’s voice was shaking at the fury he saw in the other man’s eyes. “I just steal man, I swear. I don’t want to see anyone get hurt.”

Steve heard the door open, heard Chin’s voice low but firm behind him. “Steve.”

Steve’s body burned with rage and a need to kill, to torture after hearing that some sick fucker had a house full of snapshots featuring Steve and his family. That someone with a thirst for Steve’s blood knew where they lived, had been watching them and had gotten close enough to get photos.

“Steve.” Steve felt Chin’s hand touch briefly on his back. Steve dropped Sellers unceremoniously back into his chair and stepped away, retreating towards the wall of the interrogation room with Chin.

“Gideon must be the one responsible for jumping Danny.” Steve’s voice could cut glass. “This guy knows where we live, Chin.”

Chin picked up on the ‘we’, and didn’t need names to know exactly to whom Steve was referring to residing in his house. “I know. And right now, they are safe. She is still in your office, and he is at the computer helping Kono sort through any clues that his beating and that text may have left behind. So right now, you need to calm down and find out why this guy is targeting you.” Chin’s eyes darted towards Raymond, and then back to Steve. “Do you want me to take over?”

Chin’s stable presence served to steady Steve, and he drew in two slow breaths. “No. I got it.” He already had a plan in his head. “Call Fryer. Tell him to head over here with two of his most trusted men. Not in a squad car,” he added.

Chin’s mouth lifted slightly. “Done. And Steve?” Chin tipped his head towards Raymond. “Don’t kill him, brah. He could prove to be very useful.”

Steve clapped Chin on the back in thanks and turned back towards Sellers. “Okay, _Ray-Ray_ , here’s how tonight is gonna go down.”

 

_**Friday evening, 19:00** _

Danny’s arm was pulsing with pain, but at least the wound had been cleaned. Steve had done a quick patch job on him and lent him a spare tee shirt from his office before he let Danny see Grace. “If she sees you run in here dirty and bloodied, she’s going to get scared, D.” Steve had reasoned. He was lucky Danny had listened to him; still Steve had done the bandage up as quickly as he could.

Danny now stood with Kono at 5-0’s table computer. He tried his best to focus on the data in front of them but his gaze kept sliding towards Grace every 30 seconds.

Chin had come out about twenty minutes earlier to call Fryer with Steve’s request, and to give Danny and Kono an update on the interrogation Steve was conducting. He had repeated the description of Gideon so Kono could start to try and track him, and told them what Raymond knew about his desire for revenge. After a moment’s hesitation, and with a concerned eye on Danny, he had told them about the pictures in Gideon’s house. He gave them what little other info that Raymond had had on Gideon before returning to the interrogation room to help Steve flush out his plan.

Kono was looking up past cases involving casualties of anyone with the name Joe, Joey, or Joseph. So far she had come up empty. She gave Danny a compassionate but determined look. “We’ll find this guy, Danny.”

Danny’s body was coiled like a spring, ready to strike. “I’ve been in danger before, hundreds of times. We all have; it’s part of the job.” He pushed away from the table, took in his little girl sitting in Steve’s office, then turned back towards Kono. He looked into her sympathetic eyes and continued. “But my little girl, my baby…” Danny raked his hands through his hair in a futile attempt to stop them shaking. His entire body was quaking with anger and he was keen to take it out on someone. Soon. “Some guy, some demented mother _fucker_ , with a _gun_ , has his eyes on my daughter.” Danny would kill him. Twice. Slowly. With a rusty spoon.

Kono wanted to comfort but found she was unable to utter platitudes that she knew wouldn’t help the situation. All she could do was lend her confidence to her friend and teammate the best she could, and use all her resources to find whoever wanted to hurt him. Hands flitting over the large touch screen, she was about to repeat her promise to find Gideon when Grace came out of Steve’s office.

“Danno? I don’t want to be alone anymore. I want to be out here with you.” Grace wrapped her arms around Danny’s leg and pressed her head into his left side. Kono didn’t bother wiping the images off the table computer screen, seeing as how Grace wasn’t quite tall enough to look down on it.

“That’s okay, baby. I was just about to come get you. I need my Monkey next to me right now.” Danny’s hand covered her hair and slid down to her shoulders, holding her close, not caring that she was pressing against some of the places he had been punched. He had told her he’d been in a small car accident, but that he was okay and didn’t even need a real doctor to check him out, that Uncle Steve had done just fine and all he needed was some TLC from his favorite princess. He knew she must be getting hungry and impatient, had to be wondering why they were still at 5-0 and not at home. He kissed the top of her head and offered a silent thanks that she hadn’t asked too many questions. Steve didn’t want them alone, either at his place or Danny’s, until they could figure out what was going on. Danny had to admit that he did feel safer being at 5-0 with his teammates, and besides, he was thankful to be around extra backup if it was needed. He wasn’t about to take any risks where his daughter was concerned.

Kono knelt down beside her. “Hey Grace, I know that it sucks that your daddy and Uncle Steve have to work late tonight. But you wanna know what the best part is about working late when you work for 5-0?” Grace shook her head. Kono gave Grace a wide grin. “Pizza parties!” Grace smiled and looked up at her father, who nodded.

Danny smiled at Kono, and thanked his lucky stars for the fiftieth time that day that he had such an awesome team. “Yeah, Monkey, Kono’s right. And you know what is really the best part? Uncle Steve pays! So start thinking about all of the fancy toppings that you want on your pizza.” He could feel Grace relax a little bit, even though she continued to stand right next to him.

Chin and Steve came out into the belly of 5-0, Raymond Sellers walking between them with his hands cuffed behind him. When Steve saw Grace standing near the computer with Danny and Kono, he looked at Chin over Sellers’ head. The other man nodded and gripped one of Raymond’s arms. Steve took Raymond’s cuffs off and growled into his ear. “As far as that little girl is concerned, you are just some guy helping us out on a case, got it? You don’t talk to her, you don’t touch her.” He intentionally dragged the manacles along Raymond’s raw wrists as he unlocked them. “You think _I_ can hurt you? Officer Kelly over there will kill you in seconds without batting an eye. Got it?”

Ray rubbed the skin just below his sore wrists. “Dude, I told you, I’m no killer, and I’m not dumb enough to try anything against you. I’m not going to hurt a little girl, man. Shit, I have a little sister of my own.”

“Watch your mouth.” Steve hauled Raymond next to the computer where Kono and Danny and Grace were standing, and gave him another warning shake not to say or do anything stupid in front of their daughter.

“Uncle Steve!” Grace unglued herself from Danny’s side and ran to Steve. Steve decided he would come back to that ‘their daughter’ moment his brain just had later when he had time and brainpower to deal with it. He caught Grace and lifted her up into his arms, her smiling face doing wonders to calm his nerves. “Kono and Danno said that you’re buying us all pizza!” She tucked her head against Steve’s neck and looked at her other surrogate uncle. “You get to have pizza too, Chin.”

Chin gave her a dazzling smile and a mock bow, all while keeping a vise-like grip on Raymond’s bicep. “That’s very kind of you, Gracie.” She nodded against Steve’s shoulder, and curled her little fist into Steve’s shirt. Steve drilled his gaze into Raymond’s, and then shot a pointed look at Danny with his brow slightly raised. “Yeah.” Sellers confirmed. “That’s the other guy in the pictures.” He looked over at Grace, and gave Steve a subtle nod.

Steve’s arms tightened around Grace to give her one last squeeze before he put her down. “Why don’t you go with Kono into her office and order us all some pizza to be delivered? Danno and I will finish up as quickly as we can while we wait for it to get here. Sound good, sweetheart?” Steve smiled and raised his fist.

Grace wasn’t quite satisfied. “We go home after pizza?”

“We go home after pizza.” Steve promised. Grace nodded and bumped his fist with her own, then took Kono’s outstretched hand.

Steve rose to his feet. “Chin, you wanna take Ray-Ray here and make a delivery of your own?”

Raymond sighed, resigned to his task. “If Gideon finds out I clued you in, he’s going to kill me.”

“Trust me.” An image of Grace’s scared face and Danny’s slashed arm flashed through Steve’s mind. “If all goes according to plan, he won’t have the chance.” While Chin took Raymond out to Captain Fryer’s waiting rental car, Steve placed a call to the Governor, put him on speaker, and filled both Denning and Danny in on his plan.

 

**_Friday Night, 22:00_ **

Steve entered the hotel suite bathroom, first-aid kit in hand, to find Danny sitting on the lip of the Jacuzzi-style bathtub. He hadn’t gotten very far with Steve’s instructions to strip to his underwear so that Steve could do an injury check. Danny had taken his belt off, but he was still wearing his ripped slacks and the borrowed tee shirt he had thrown on at HQ. He was sitting uncharacteristically still, his gaze unfocused.

Steve, Danny, and Grace were being put up in a hotel suite tonight. Steve didn’t want them staying at his house tonight, in case Gideon got twitchy feet and decided to come after them earlier than Raymond had said. The small hotel room was easier to protect on short notice than Steve’s entire house, and hopefully by tomorrow Danny would be at least less tired, if not a little less sore. Steve had had his share of beatings; if anything, Danny might be even more sore tomorrow but at least he could get a good night’s sleep tonight. They had talked about taking shifts to sleep, but there was no way Steve was going to wake Danny before morning.

Steve’s mind was racing, going over the plan for tomorrow. Raymond Sellers had turned out to be their ace in the hole, a source of information for them that neither Gideon nor 5-0 had counted on. Steve planned to use the knowledge the thief had given them to their full advantage, and hopefully flush out Gideon before he could make his next, likely deadly, move. He felt a little bit bad about making Fryer babysit Raymond tonight after his staged break-in at Steve’s, but Steve needed someone he trusted to watch Sellers to make sure he didn’t double cross them. And if everything Raymond had told them is true, and he really is helping 5-0 as best he can to earn protection from Gideon, then Steve wanted someone he trusted watching Raymond’s back in case Gideon suddenly decides to tie up loose ends.

Giving himself a mental shake and a scolding to center his attention where it belonged, Steve reached around Danny to turn the faucet on, letting hot water fill the tub as he stepped in between Danny’s legs. Steve’s quick bandage job on Danny’s lacerated forearm from earlier that day at HQ needed to be redone so that Danny wouldn’t risk infection. Letting Danny have some peace for a few moments, Steve was quiet as he took off the old bandage on Danny’s forearm, now caked with dried blood, and tossed it in the trash can under the sink. Steve’s heart broke a little as he looked at his partner sitting motionless and obedient while Steve gently cleaned the wound again and covered it with a fresh bandage.

“Hey.” Steve spoke softly, put his knuckles under Danny’s chin to tip those blue eyes towards his own. Steve made sure those ocean irises were focused on him. “Hey. She’s okay, Danny. She’s safe. No one ever touched her.”

Danny nodded and raised his uninjured arm to grip Steve’s wrist. “I know.” He held on tight. “I know. Thank you. Thank you Steve, I don’t know what would have happened if you hadn’t picked her up from school. If that guy-“ Steve quickly cut off the words falling fast from Danny’s mouth. “It didn’t. It didn’t happen.” Their eyes spoke volumes in the moment before Steve spoke again.

“I know that finding out about those pictures got under our skin. The thought of anything happening to you or Grace literally makes my heart stop.” Steve swallowed his rage, determined to stay calm, collected. “But that’s what he wants Danny. It’s what he was trying to do with that text message. He wants to freak us out. He wants to get in our heads and trip us up. We can’t let him.” Since his fingers were still under Danny’s chin, he tilted it up and bent down so he could crush his mouth to Danny’s in a fast, hard kiss.

“Yeah, I know.” Danny’s usual spark was starting to come back after Steve’s pep talk and invigorating kiss. “Remind me to have you give me a crash course in Emotional Compartmentalization 101.”

“Ha, ha,” Steve said dryly. He gently raised Danny’s arms above his head to help him pull his borrowed tee shirt off. When Steve saw the bruises marring Danny’s beautiful body, he swore under his breath. “Jesus, Danno.”

“You should see the other guy.” Danny tried to joke, but it fell flat. “He took me by surprise and I couldn’t gain the upper hand fast enough before he pulled out that damn switchblade. But I did manage a few good punches before he knocked me out.” He tried to keep the mood light. “So we’ll know we have the right stalker tomorrow when we find the one sporting some Jersey bruises.”

Steve barely heard him. He dropped to his knees and touched just his fingertips to Danny’s varicolored skin, his caress gentler than a whisper even though his hands were shaking with fury. Danny grasped Steve’s hands, stilling their glide across his marred body. He gave them a squeeze. “We are going to flood this gorgeous bathroom if we don’t turn that water off, babe.” Steve knew it was meant as a distraction. He reached around Danny to turn the water off, using more force than necessary.

Steve’s cheek was near Danny’s as he leaned to reach behind him; his arms slid against Danny’s ribcage as he drew back. Danny’s whisper into Steve’s ear sent a tingle through Steve’s entire body. “Steve. Babe. Look at me. No, not at the bruises. Up here.” Steve did as Danny asked, and slowed his breathing in an attempt to let his anger recede. Steve closed his eyes when he felt Danny’s hands on either side of his face. Danny’s thumbs were brushing his temples, and Steve felt his head being gently pulled lower.

This time it was Danny who calmed, Danny who comforted. His lips were soft against Steve’s, his tongue gently sliding across Steve’s lower lip to gain access to Steve’s mouth. He was in no rush, nipping at Steve’s lips before sliding his tongue fully inside Steve’s mouth. Steve returned the kiss, opened his mouth, his heart, his fears to Danny as his hands gripped Danny’s hips and dug in to skin that wasn’t bruised now, but would be by morning. They had kissed many times before, but this was different; after today, this was salvation. Steve’s anger at the violent marks on Danny’s body turned to passion, turned to need for the man who had seen him at his best and who, Steve knew, loved him at his worst. He wrapped his powerful arms around Danny and held him close, latching on to this moment and their kiss. He felt Danny’s hands reach for the hem of his shirt, tore his mouth away from Danny’s just long enough to pull it over his head and throw it aside. His erection throbbed painfully inside his cargos.

He could see the same reaction happening to Danny. “Fuck.” Danny talked in between kisses. “If Gracie wasn’t asleep just outside this door, I would drag you into this bathtub with me.”

Steve laughed, pressed his forehead against Danny’s. He swallowed hard, and cupped Danny’s face in between his strong hands. Pressing one last lingering kiss against Danny’s mouth, Steve rose to his feet. “I don’t want your water to get cold. The hot bath will make you feel better.” He gave Danny a tender smile laced with heat and reached down to adjust himself. “Get in. Soak. Relax, and think of nothing but me and what I’m going to do to you when this is all over.” Knowing they wouldn’t be able to act on their desires tonight, he willed himself to calm down. “I’ll be just outside the door if you need me.”

\-----------------------------------------------

Danny slowly sank into the hot water that made him hiss in pain when it came in contact with his injuries. After an initial few minutes, it started to seep into his skin and soothe his tense muscles. Dutifully keeping his bandaged right forearm out of the water, Danny let his body float so the water could swirl around him, keeping only his head braced against the slanted headrest as an anchor.

Having spent most of their pizza party on the table computer looking at any past cases that might prove to be a connection, Kono had finally found the case responsible for Gideon’s vendetta. Gideon had lost his little brother Joey when they had taken part in a drug smuggling operation that had been busted by 5-0 some six months earlier. Like most takedowns that were led by one crazy ass Steve-motherfucking-McGarrett, this one had culminated in a flurry of gunfire. Unfortunately for him, Joey had been on the receiving end of three of those bullets. When Kono had informed them that she had tracked back to the right case, Danny had watched as Steve’s eyes had hardened and knew he remembered shooting the kid.

According to Raymond –Steve was going to trust a thief? Really? – anyway, according to Raymond, Gideon – what the hell kind of a name was that? – was planning his revenge for tomorrow, his late brother’s birthday. If Ray was to be believed, those photos in Gideon’s apartment – Danny’s fist clenched thinking about some fucker having pictures of his daughter- were an indication that Gideon planned to rob Steve of the same thing: his only family on the island. Danny and Grace.

Danny started thinking about the plan Steve had explained to him and Governor Denning earlier that night on the phone that would hopefully keep them one step ahead of Gideon. Raymond would break into Steve’s house tonight and get back to Gideon in the morning with the house layout that he had requested. He would report that the kitchen calendar had reflected that Steve and Danny would be busy all Saturday afternoon at the pool with Gracie, and that they would be attending Governor Denning’s sister’s birthday bash that night. Raymond would tell Gideon that the best time to be at Steve’s house would be while Steve and Danny are at the pool. That way, he can be lying in wait for them when they return to the house to get ready for the party.

Steve and Danny would indeed show up at Steve’s during the time frame Raymond indicated. Grace would be in protective custody; no way was Danny using her as bait in some crazy fucker’s ambush and Chin and Kono would be invisibly ready to take Gideon out before he could hurt Steve or Danny. Since Danny was the main target in this psycho’s plan, he wasn’t too crazy about using himself as bait. But trust in Steve and in his team made him confident that they would catch the sonofabitch in time. He’d put his life savings behind Steve’s ability to talk to hostage takers, Chin’s perfect timing, and Kono’s sniper skills any day. Even a risky motherfucker like Steve wouldn’t put Danny in danger if he didn’t think he could keep him out of it.

With the water relaxing his body and the assurance of Steve’s presence outside his door, Danny let his thoughts center solely on Steve. Images flashed through his mind; Steve yanking on his arm to incapacitate him the first day they met, Steve smiling at him when he gave Danny the tickets to the hotel and dolphin show for his weekend with Grace, Steve laid-back and relaxed the first time he met Gracie at a football game. He thought of Steve’s voice, cocky and confident that first day when he had told Danny ‘you are my back-up’, remembered the gentle way he said ‘Maybe you’re not as alone on this island as you think’, those words making Danny first wonder if Steve might care for him in more than a professional capacity. Heard Steve’s voice in his head telling him he was too sensitive, then later assuring him he was a good father, and just yesterday whispering in his ear that yeah, Danny, he liked it just like that and please, please suck him harder.

Danny was exhausted, worried, and sore yet his left hand still drifted down to his aching cock that had been craving attention since Steve’s fingers had so lovingly run across his body to check his bruises. Danny stroked himself as he did what Steve had instructed; he thought of his partner’s face, his voice, his body as he rubbed his palm up and down his straining cock and bit his lip to keep from making any noise. His mind drifted back to this morning – was it only just this morning that Steve had found him dancing like a fool in his kitchen to Bon Jovi? He had danced right into Steve’s arms and God, Steve’s hands on his hips and his mouth on his chest – Danny secretly loved it when Steve used his mouth to play with the gold chain Danny wore around his neck – had driven Danny insane. Danny’s hand pumped faster, thinking of the naughty things Steve would often whisper in his ear, telling him how badly he wanted to love him, fuck him, make him come. Danny sunk his head underwater to muffle any sounds he made as he came into his hand and the bathwater, lost in the sensation and fantasy of being with Steve.

He surfaced again and smiled. If all went well tomorrow, Danny would be able to act on his fantasies for real, and he sure as hell wouldn’t be coming alone.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve and Danny have their showdown with Gideon. But it doesn't exactly go as planned...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for sticking with me on this, sorry it took me so long....life happened. Hope you like it!  
> Small Epilogue still to come
> 
> \---small warning for homophobic slur

**Chapter 6**

Steve opened the incoming text on his phone shortly before 4 am. _Open the door. It’s me_.

Now wary of texts but 98% confident it really was who he thought, he glanced at Grace and Danny, each sound asleep under the covers of their respective beds. Steve made no sound as he walked to the door, looked through the peephole, and let out a quiet breath as he opened the hotel door and stepped out.

“Chin.” Steve was buoyed, almost refreshed when he saw his trusted teammate. “What are you doing here so early?”

Chin smiled, having sent the same text to both men inside the hotel room. “Confirming my suspicions that you would be the one to open the door and not Danny.” Chin was decked out in his tac vest, his weapon comfortably strapped to his body. “Kono and I caught some sleep as soon as we could after leaving HQ. We both wanted to be here early because we knew there was no way you were going to wake Danny up in the middle of the night, so that you could sleep, after the day he had yesterday.”

Steve looked at one of the few people in his life that he would allow himself to lower his SEAL guard around. He smiled, knowing no more than that was necessary. “Kono?”

“Posted outside the hotel. Keeping watch on the west side of the building, eyes on your room. I’ll be in the hall.” His words were final.

“Mahalo,” Steve whispered. He quietly closed and locked the hotel door and made his way towards Danny’s bed. Danny didn’t make a sound when Steve slid under the covers and wrapped his body around him, but he did feel a squeeze when he interlocked their fingers. He smiled against Danny’s back and fell asleep in less than ten seconds.

\- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

“Danno! Danno, watch me!” Grace’s enthusiastic voice carried to the hotel lounger about ten feet from the pool, where Danny was sitting. Danny smiled as Steve dove under water and then came up under Gracie, catching her legs on his shoulders and standing to launch her across the pool.

“I see you, baby! Next time you can throw Steve!” Danny smiled and watched the water roll down Steve’s naked torso after he surfaced. At least with Grace around he wasn’t showing his appreciation though his board shorts, but his eyes drank in the sight nonetheless. Steve smiled back and tapped his ear. Danny shook his head and subtly waved his hand. Chin and Kono were keeping eyes on the pool and hotel perimeter, in case Gideon decided to make an appearance. Danny, having the perfect excuse for staying out of the water due to his bandage, had an ear-piece in to communicate with them. He had to reassure Steve every two minutes that everything was calm –for now- because the man just could not be out of the loop for longer than that. He’d had to reason with him for twenty minutes earlier that morning about why it didn’t make sense for Steve to wear an ear-piece, because someone had to be in the pool with Grace, and didn’t it make more sense for it to be Aquaman than poor, injured Danno?

A few minutes later Danny gently tapped his ear-piece and spoke. “Kono. Time status?” Chin and Kono were going to head to Steve’s house a bit ahead of them to get into position. They would have eyes and guns locked on Gideon when Steve and Danny got there, hopefully ending any conflict before it could start. Seeing his little girl laugh and play, with no knowledge of what might lie ahead today, made Danny anxious for it all to be over with.

Kono’s voice came through to his ear. “I was just about to check in. A couple of HPD guys are going to mill around here when Chin and I head out. Call Bossman out of the water. Raymond told Gideon to be at Steve’s around 1500 but something tells me the psycho is going to start playtime early.”

“Yeah. Playtime.” Danny made a circling motion with his finger at Steve, a time-to-wrap-it-up gesture, and watched as he communicated that to Grace. Steve’s hand was on Grace’s upper back as they walked back to the chairs together.

Danny opened a towel for Grace, catching her in it and wrapping it and his arms around her, probably holding on a bit longer than necessary. “Five more minutes in the pool, Danno?” Grace pleaded as she wriggled out of his arms. Danny looked around the chair but couldn’t find Grace’s tee shirt. He pulled off his own tee and held it open and above her head so she could slide her arms into it. She did so and slipped on her pool skirt as he said, “Not today, Monkey. We have to go home and get ready for the Governor’s big party tonight! We have to get you cleaned up so Officer Hale can take you to get your hair done.” Leila Hale had been one of Meka’s, and therefore still Danny’s, most trusted friends at HPD. Still, if he was going to make Gracie spend a couple hours with the female officer without really telling her why, the least he could do was pamper her some.

Steve had already toweled off and thrown on his tee. “Why change Grace into a dress? Your tee shirt on her looks like one anyway.” Grace giggled. “What do you know, Danno, your clothes are actually big on someone!” Danny flipped him off behind Grace’s back and received a disarming McGarrett smile in response.

Steve’s eyes turned a bit more serious and Danny mentally translated Steve’s next words. “Why don’t you guys go up to the room while I check out?” I’ll go check in with Chin and Kono before they leave. “Grace can get changed into her own dry clothes while you grab our stuff. Meet me back in the lobby as soon as you can.” I’d go with you but my gun and tac kit are with hotel security and I’ve already had to go 75 agonizing minutes without them. “All of the stuff should be packed, just change and hurry back down, okay?” He rubbed his hand over Grace’s hair and looked at Danny. I’ll have your gear too. I want to be ready to move out as soon as you get back down. “Officer Hale will be waiting for you in the lobby, Gracie.”

“C’mon, baby.” Danny wrapped his arm around Grace’s shoulders. He had a ridiculous urge to throw his arms around Steve before he headed upstairs. Seeing as how they hadn’t quite made their relationship public knowledge – although with 5-0 and now some HPD knowing about the photos that Gideon had, he doubted it would be secret much longer, if it even still was- he didn’t act on his impulse. Danny settled for clapping him on the shoulder and giving Steve’s bicep a quick squeeze before heading towards the hotel with Grace.

Opening the hotel entrance door with his key card, he led Grace towards the elevators. He noticed Leila waiting in the lobby, and gave her a small smile and a quick nod before getting into the elevator. No need to draw too much attention, plus he was in a hurry to get their stuff and get back to Steve.

“Are you dry enough that we can just grab our stuff and you can shower and change back at Steve’s instead of in the room, baby?” Danny walked them down the hall to their room, key card in hand. He felt naked and vulnerable without his gun, or his shirt. He was in a hurry to get back to Steve and his own gear. Danny heard Grace’s quiet ‘yeah’ just before Chin’s voice sounded in his ear “Heading out, Danny. See you at Steve’s.” There was a quick pause before he heard Steve’s voice bark out, “Location?”

Ah. Steve had obviously gotten geared up with earpiece in the short time Danny had been en route to the room. “Hallway. Chillax, Steven, we just got out of the elevator. Can you hear that? That’s me rolling my eyes at you.”

He could hear Steve’s smile. “Love you, Danno.”

Danny almost dropped his room key card. They hadn’t gotten to the I Love You Phase yet. Of course, Danny knew they both felt the same way, they just hadn’t, Jesus, actually ever said it out loud. And Steve picks now? While their 5-0 teammates, not to mention some of HPD, can hear it too? And he’s not even actually with Danny when he decides to vocalize his feelings? Jesus, Danny thought again. He knew Steve had probably said it impulsively as a joke, just to placate him. But, still. His heart skipped a beat or five.

“Jesus, Steve.” Danny couldn’t help smiling as he slipped the card into the slot on their door and stepped inside.

He didn’t hear Steve’s reply, thanks to the rush of fear that came with having a gun pointed at his face. The man he immediately knew to be Gideon stood a few feet in front of him. “Hello again, Detective Will-“

“Grace, run!” Danny instinctively pushed Grace behind him and to the side, out the still open door. He swallowed hard and thought fast, rushing to block Gideon’s path. He hoped his voice would carry out into the hall as he slammed himself into a now charging Gideon. “Run, baby, get downstairs!” Danny opened his arms and made his body as wide as he could to keep Gideon from getting into the hall, keep him from Grace. He heard the door slam shut, and as he fought and braced his body for a bullet any second now, he prayed Grace had listened to him.

Danny had been fast enough to take him by surprise, but Gideon quickly retaliated. Knowing just where to grab, Gideon latched onto Danny’s injured right forearm and twisted the bandaged skin with one hand while kneeing Danny in the gut in the same spot that he had punched twice the day before. Danny screamed in pain as his two weak spots were hit simultaneously and he sank to his knees.

Keeping his hand on Danny’s slashed and newly bleeding forearm, Gideon looked down on him. “Nice reflexes, Detective. Well played. This will just make it more fun for me to track her down later.” Danny growled and tried to rise. “Easy.” Gideon twisted his arm again. “Now, where is your boyfriend?”

\- - - - - - - - - - - - -

Steve froze when he heard the commotion coming over his earpiece. He heard a muffled male voice, heard Danny shout for Grace to run. Standing in the hotel parking lot, hands frozen in the motion of strapping on his shoulder holster, he heard a thump, and then a scream. His heart broke at the pain in the sound. Not again. Time came to a halt even as voices came through his earpiece, as faint as an echo. Steve knew he needed to move, needed to _act_ , but his legs were locked. “Steve?” Chin’s voice was miles away.

Dozens of images and noises flashed through Steve’s head: The blast in Afghanistan that had killed four of his teammates, the sound of a SEAL’s last breath as he had died in Steve’s arms after an IED had gone off under the vehicle ahead of his, his Dad’s last words over the phone before he had heard Victor Hesse shoot him. And now Danny, Danny and Grace, fighting for their lives while he was standing here, in a fucking parking lot, because he had been too impatient to go upstairs with them. Steve’s hands shook and his heart slammed in his chest but dammit his legs still wouldn’t move.

“Steve! Goddammit, Steve, _do you copy_?”

And just like that, Steve snapped into motion. “Chin.” Steve fastened his holster, grabbed another gun and two extra full clips. “Chin. Danny. Hotel room.” Steve couldn’t form a coherent thought as he ran for the hotel.

“Steve. What happened? Are you okay?” Chin and Kono had heard the same noises as Steve.

Steve reached deep inside to strangle his inner demons, to cut them off before they could render him useless. He forced himself to concentrate, and spit out words as he ran. “Chin. Kono. Turn around now. Gideon is at the hotel.”

Steve probably hadn’t wasted more than thirty seconds during his little freak out, but it had felt like thirty minutes, knowing that Danny and Grace were unarmed in a hotel room with a psycho hell-bent on killing them. He took off running for the hotel from the side parking lot, the narrow asphalt path taking him back to the pool area. He jumped the fence enclosing the pool darted in between people milling around the pool. He got to the west side entrance door to the hotel and cursed when it wouldn’t budge. He didn’t have access now that he didn’t have their keycard anymore. He contemplated breaking the door for about a millisecond, but even Steve wouldn’t be able to get through the reinforced door with just his body.

He ran around to the main entrance of the hotel, cursing the time already wasted. His mind, heart, and legs were racing as he thought of Danny and Grace. Finding small comfort in the fact that he hadn’t heard the gun go off when he heard Danny yelling, Steve hoped that Grace had heeded his order to run, and that Danny was still unharmed. Danny had to know Steve would come for him. _Just buy me some time, Danno._

Steve burst through the hotel’s front door and dashed across the lobby towards the elevator bank. He looked up and saw that one car was on the thirtieth floor, one on the fifteenth. He heard a guest mutter, “Damn elevators are stuck. Out of order.” “Fuck!” Steve shouted. He ignored the shocked looks from hotel guests and plowed his way through them. He couldn’t stop moving. He sprinted towards the stairwell and started climbing the flights towards the twenty-first floor.

\- - - - - - - - - - - - -

On floor eighteen, Steve almost ran into a small body.

“Uncle Steve!” Grace launched herself at Steve, wrapping both arms around his legs.

“Gracie! Oh baby. Are you okay?” Steve knelt down, thinking of Danny in the back of his mind but focusing on the small body in front of him. His hands gripped her shoulders to set her away from him slightly. His arms roamed over her, her little body drowning in Danny’s tee shirt. “Gracie. What happened baby I need you to tell me what happened.” He knew he needed to stay calm, but the words fell fast from his lips.

“A man with a gun has Danno. Danno told me to run downstairs so I did. I saw him grab Danno, Uncle Steve I’m scared he’s gonna hurt Danno!” Grace was speaking just as quickly as he.

Steve slowed his breathing, loosened his grip. “Okay. It’s okay.” He couldn’t leave her here by herself. He grabbed her hand and opened the door to the eighteenth floor and glanced around. Seeing a maid’s cart, he jogged towards it, Grace in tow. He looked into the room where the housekeeper was changing the sheets. He pulled his badge from his waistband at her startled look. “Hi. I am Officer Steve McGarrett, 5-0. I have a man three floors up who is armed and dangerous. I need you to take this little girl down to the lobby, and look for a female police officer down there named Officer Hale. Tell her I am on the twenty-first floor, and I have an armed assailant and another officer in danger. Can you do that?” The maid nodded and stepped forward to take Grace’s hand. “Thank you. The elevators are broken, so you’ll have to take the stairs. Go downstairs immediately, do not stop for anyone until you find Officer Hale.” Steve was risking Danny’s life every minute he spent away from him, but knew he had to get Grace to safety. “Gracie, Danno and I will be down soon, okay? I promise.” Just in case, no, God, don’t think like that, but he couldn’t help it. Steve said, “We love you baby. Be back soon.” They headed for the stairwell together, Gracie and the maid going down, Steve flying up the last three flights.

\- - - - - - - - - - - - -

Steve had both hands on his gun as he approached room 2124. Silently inching his way along the wall, he pressed one ear against the doorway. Christ, he hated being in the dark. He had no intel as to what was going on in that room; where Danny was, where Gideon was, if he could bust in without being in a direct line of fire, how injured Danny was….his mind reeled with a thousand thoughts. Steve shut them all down but one: gather what information he could, and proceed accordingly. He heard a voice through the door that wasn’t Danny’s, then heard Danny respond. He couldn’t make out the words but the familiar inflection in the cadence of Danny’s passionate voice served to revive Steve. He braced his back against the hotel room door and turned his head sideways, lips almost touching the painted white veneer.

“Hey Gideon! Sounds like a party in there. Mind if I join?” Steve easily put cockiness and bravery behind the words. Even with his partner in danger on the other side of the door, with his own life possibly on the line, the SEAL part of Steve pushed all other thoughts out of his head, and was in his element. He took one step to the side, so that when Gideon opened the door, Steve was able to round on him with his gun in the other man’s face, his body grounded.

Except it wasn’t Gideon’s face on the business end of Steve’s SIG Sauer. It was Danny’s.

“Danny,” Steve breathed. He quickly lowered his gun. Steve quickly registered the blood soaking through the bandage on Danny’s arm and the way that Danny was listing a little bit to one side. Danny looked into Steve’s eyes, his gaze wary.

“McGarrett. Nice of you to finally make an appearance.” Gideon sauntered up behind Danny, gun jamming into Danny’s temple and gaze cocky. He gripped Danny’s bicep and pulled him back into the room.

Danny was getting seriously fucking tired of being manhandled around his hotel room. If Steve was here than he hoped to God that meant Grace was somewhere safe. His forearm burned like hell, his side ached, and he was continuously fighting his body’s urge to throw up. He wanted to just crumple to the ground and let Steve deal with the whole nasty situation, but the gun glued to his temple was pretty good motivation to stay alert. He tried to focus on Steve’s strength, and the fact that he wasn’t the only man in the room with a gun trained on him.

Steve’s arms were back up, and he looked past Danny at the man who was currently making his life a fucking mess. “Put the gun down, Gideon. I know you’re after me because I killed your brother.” He took pleasure in Gideon’s flinch. “Danny wasn’t the one to pull that trigger. I was. So let him go, and take me instead.”

Gideon’s laugh was more eerie than humorous. “Don’t waste time trying to fuck with me, McGarrett. I’m not here to negotiate.” His eyes hardened, and he jerked Danny flush against him, efficiently blocking his body from Steve’s gun. “You killed my brother. My only family.” Gideon’s voice cracked. “Now you are going to watch me kill your lover, your family. While you are powerless to stop it.”

Steve didn’t move a muscle. “You want to risk seeing which of us is a faster shot? You pull your trigger, I’ll pull mine.” Steve was a bit nervous, no longer having a clear shot at Gideon with Danny’s body covering him, but damned if he’d let that show. He was getting under Gideon’s skin and just needed the man to lose focus for a split second. He longed to look at Danny but didn’t want to pull his eyes away from Gideon.

Gideon gripped Danny’s hair and violently jerked his head backward, exposing his throat and flaunting his dominant position. “You think I’m scared of a faggot like you?” He lowered his gun from Danny’s temple to his throat. “I’ll put a bullet into your boyfriend right here, let him bleed out while you watch.”

Steve ignored the jibe, reined in the rage it sent coursing through his veins, and kept talking. “You think I wanted to kill Joey? He was mixed up with the wrong people, man. I had no choice.”

“Don’t!” Gideon shrieked. “Don’t you dare say his name. You piece of shit, he was just a kid!”

“He was a kid who drew his weapon on officers of the law, Gideon.” Steve was momentarily distracted by the droplets of Danny’s blood that were dripping from his forearm onto the floor. He convinced himself that he didn’t see Danny sway on his feet, and continued. “And I’m sure he wouldn’t want his brother to rot in jail for the rest of his life. Put down your gun, and we can all walk away.” Steve’s hands tightened on his gun but he couldn’t get a goddamn shot off without risking hitting Danny, even at this close range.

“Fuck you, McGarrett.” Gideon tightened his grip on Danny.

Danny, far too calmly for the situation, said, “Steve.” Just spoke the one word, his name, but said volumes. Steve looked at him and saw Danny mouth _I love you_ as Danny grabbed his own right hand with his left and used it to jab his right elbow into Gideon’s midsection.

Then three things happened at once.

Gideon doubled over, but just as quickly fired his gun.

Steve took the moment he was given and got a shot off as Danny ducked.

And Danny crumpled to the floor.

\- - - - - - - - - - - - -

In the ballroom of the Honolulu Westin hotel, Governor Denning walked up to Steve and grasped his hand in a firm shake. “McGarrett. I’m sorry to hear about what happened today. You have the full commendations of the Hawai’i government, as well as my personal condolences for all you went through.” He looked down. “And, it seems, the most gorgeous date of anyone here.”

Steve hugged Gracie closer to his side with his left arm as he shook the Governor’s hand with his right. “Thank you, Sir. It’s been a rough day.” He looked across the room, where Danny was grabbing him a drink from the open bar. Danny caught his gaze and headed their way. His arm was freshly bandaged and Steve could see the fatigue lining his face, but he had insisted they still come to the party. “But luckily, everything fell in our favor. It could have been a lot worse. I’m lucky to have such a good team, as well as an official who…supports our split second decisions.” Steve practically winked at Denning.

When Steve had fired his gun on Gideon, Kono had done the same from the building across from the hotel. The two slugs took Gideon down, and the man was dead before Steve could walk the five feet across the room to check for a pulse. Danny’s blood loss and beating had gotten the best of him, and he had finally passed out after elbowing Gideon and seeing Steve’s finger pull the trigger.

Governor Denning nodded. “Hopefully we won’t have any close calls like that for quite a while.” Someone called to him from a few feet away, and Denning sighed. “Excuse me. The mingling public awaits. Don’t forget to wish Marcie a very happy birthday.” He smiled at Steve once more before moving away.

Danny pushed a drink into Steve’s hand as he sidled up next to the two most important people in his life. “So, how much longer do we have to stay to be socially appropriate?” Danny returned with two glasses.

Steve smiled at him, knowing that after the last thirty-six hours, Danny had to be dead on his feet. He had tried to convince him to take Grace home, to get some rest while Steve attended the party when Danny had been in the ER after their encounter with Gideon. While getting stitches put in his forearm that Gideon had made worse with his torture while waiting for Steve, Danny had protested and convinced Steve that it wasn’t just SuperSEALs that could withstand major amounts of pain. Sure, his forearm burned and his bruised side pulsed with pain, but Danny had demanded to be released. Leila had taken Grace to get her hair done, albeit a bit later than planned, and had rushed her back to the house to get ready. “My baby still deserves to get pampered and go to this party, Steven.” Steve had sighed and gone along but had persuaded Danny to at least take some painkillers.

With said painkillers, Danny probably shouldn’t be drinking alcohol, Steve thought when he saw a glass in each of Danny’s hands. But hey, after today, Steve wasn’t about to deny his lover one drink, especially when Steve himself was finding more comfort than he should in the liquid courage tonight. Steve downed his own drink in two gulps, and accepted the next glass Danny gave him. Okay, so Danny wasn’t drinking. That was smart. At this rate, Steve was drinking enough for the two of them anyway. When he thought of how close he had come to losing Danny, how much danger he had put him and Grace in at the hands of that psycho, Steve’s gut clenched and those damn inner demons threatened to rise up again and overtake him. _He’s better off without you. Safer. They both are._

Danny raised one eyebrow at Steve and plucked the two now empty glasses from his hand and placed them on the tray of a passing waiter. Steve picked up another full glass and pulled Danny close. “Um, Steve, really? Here? Lots of people watching.”

“I don’t care, Danny. I don’t give a shit. Let them see.” Steve was done hiding. If tonight was the only night he had left with Danny before the man came to his senses and realized he was better off without him, then Steve would be damned if he spent it farther away from Danny than he had to.

“Uncle Steve! Bad word.” Grace tugged on his arm.

“Yes, Steven, very bad word.” Danny really couldn’t care less. He was reveling in Steve’s public display of affection, wanted to walk to the middle of the dance floor and make a fucking spectacle of themselves for all of HPD and Hawai’i’s political elite to see.

But he took in Gracie’s yawn, and looked at his watch. It was way past her bedtime, and they had put in their social obligation. More than, considering the day they had had. “Okay, Monkey. Time to go.” Chin and Kono chose that moment to walk up to them, and Steve clapped Chin on the back and toasted Kono.

Danny took Grace’s hand in his and sought out Leila Hale, who earlier that evening had agreed in a heartbeat to take Grace home as an excuse to leave the party early herself. Leila excused herself from another conversation when Danny walked up to her. “Thanks again for taking her home ahead of us, Leila. I won’t be far behind you, I just have to get that guy over there home safely” Danny smiled at her, his head tipping towards Steve. “I’ll see you in a bit, Monkey. I’ll come check on you when I get home, even if you’re asleep.” He hugged Grace close, then slipped Leila Steve’s spare house key, confident that she would stay awake and watch Grace until they got home.

She waved off the key. “I’ll take her home with me.” Leila smiled at him with compassion. “You two need some time to decompress. I’ll bring her by tomorrow morning.” Danny closed his eyes in gratitude. “Leila, thank you. I’m so sorry to-“ She cut him off, eyes sparkling. “She’s in good hands. Relax tonight, Detective Williams. Take your partner home and get some sleep.”

Danny wandered back over to Steve and his teammates. “Kono,” he said softly. He knew the second bullet in Gideon’s body had been hers. Danny pulled her into a tight hug when she turned. “Thank you.” Kono held on tight, then pulled back. “Don’t even mention it, Other Boss. And don’t ever scare us like that again.” Her smile was dazzling.

He chuckled. “Yeah. Not if I have anything to say about it.” He moved next to Chin, caught the other man’s gaze and hugged him too.

“Don’t start, brah.” Chin joked. ‘If you start crying, then I’ll start crying, and Kono will have a mess to drag home.” But he returned the smaller man’s hug just as tightly.

Danny laughed. “Yeah, that’s what I have to deal with” He wrapped his arm around Steve’s waist and pressed against him. He felt something hard on the inside of Steve’s jacket. Danny rolled his eyes. It wasn’t a gun, but Lord only knew what Steve kept on his person at any given time. “Let’s go, Mcgarrett. Bedtime.”

“Yeah, Danno.” Steve waggled his eyebrows suggestively. “Bedtime, indeed.” He grabbed another wine glass on their way out.

Danny hadn’t missed how much wine Steve had consumed at the party. He fished into Steve’s pants pockets for the car keys. “I’m the one on painkillers; you should be the one driving me home.” He grumbled good-naturedly. He had nothing to complain about. He, and everyone he loved, was safe, and they could go home and sleep for as long as they wanted and he could wake up and enjoy a full Spring Break week with his daughter. Their daughter.

Steve grinned lasciviously. “Keep searching, Danno. Take your time.”

Danny smiled and blinked back a surge of wetness that welled in his eyes as he and Steve made their way to the car, blaming the emotions on stress and medicine. He deposited Steve into the passenger seat and climbed into the driver’s side, the day’s events running through his mind. He was angry that he had gone to the hotel room so unprepared, he was thankful that Grace had listened to him and made a break for it, he was nauseous thinking about how close he had come to dying, and he was overwhelmed with love thinking about how Steve had so calmly and determinedly come into that hotel room to –okay, yeah, it galled his manly side a bit to admit it- rescue him.

He gripped the wheel and for once was content to ride in silence, lost in his own thoughts. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Steve take a long pull from a bottle of whiskey. “Where the hell did you get that?” Well. That solved the mystery of what he had felt in Steve’s jacket.

Steve grinned at him. “You’re always making fun of me for being a ninja, Danno. I just slid behind the bar and it jumped into my hands, I swear.” Steve tipped the bottle back and took another swig.

“Yeah, I’ll just bet it did.” He felt Steve’s hand on his thigh. “Steve,” he sighed. He longed for the touch but fuck he was in pain, and more exhausted than he could ever remember being.

“It’s okay, Danno. I’m not- I just – Need to touch you.” Steve’s fingers tightened. Danny softened even more at the vulnerable sound of Steve’s voice. In the last two minutes, his lover had gone from joking to painfully serious. “Just need to touch you.” Steve said again.

Danny pulled into Steve’s driveway, cut the lights and the engine. He leaned over the console and framed Steve’s face in his hands. He gently pressed his lips to Steve’s, then kissed Steve’s cheek, his brow, his closed eyes. “Let’s go inside, babe.”

“Danny.” Steve almost whimpered at the loss of touch when Danny pulled away and got out of the car. He saw Steve take another drink as he rounded the car. Danny came around to the passenger side and leaned in to take off Steve’s seatbelt. He was mildly alarmed at Steve’s complacency but figured he wasn’t the only one who was entitled to a break down after having his family threatened at gunpoint. “C’mon, Steve, we’re home.”

Steve’s hands gripped Danny’s forearms, even in his drunken state being careful to reach above the slice on Danny’s arm. “Home,” he repeated.

\- - - - - - - - - - - - -

“Okay. Here we are, babe. That’s it, take it easy.” Even with Danny carrying most of his weight, Steve practically spilled through the door into the living room. Danny propped Steve up against the wall while gauging the distance of the room. Deciding that getting to Steve’s bedroom upstairs might be a bit ambitious with Steve as drunk as he was, Danny figured he would just try to get him as far as the couch.

They made it two steps before Steve slid out of Danny’s arms and down the wall onto the floor, the whiskey bottle loosely gripped in his hand. “Why. Why do you keep coming here, Danny. I’m such a mess, I’m - Why do you stay with me.” Steve leaned his head forward onto his forearms, the alcohol dangling precariously from his fingers.

Danny plucked the bottle from Steve’s hand and knelt down beside his partner, his lover, his best friend, his world. He put one hand on Steve’s shoulder, the other hand cupping his cheek. “Because.” He spoke softly but firmly, and tried to keep his own voice from breaking. “Because you’re beautiful and you’re broken and there isn’t an element on this earth that is going to keep me away from you.” Danny gathered Steve up in his arms. He felt Steve’s head digging deep against his shoulder as he whispered, “I’m right here, Steve. I’m right here and I am never, ever leaving you. Ever.” Danny kissed Steve’s temple and muttered comforting words while Steve held tight to his biceps, emotions leaving him exhausted and pliant in Danny’s arms.

“I put you in danger, Danny. You and Grace. Oh God, Grace.” Steve’s voice cracked with emotion.

“Grace is fine. She’s fine, do you hear me?” Danny held on tight. “She’s fine, and so am I. This wasn’t your fault, Steve.” Danny pressed his cheek against Steve’s hair, ignoring the pain in his side.

“It was. I should have, I should have known. The phone calls,” Steve pushed the breath out of his body in a wracking sob. “I should have listened to my gut. He came after you because of something I did.” Steve shoved Danny off of him and let his head slam against the wall behind him in defeat.

No. Just fucking no. This thing he and Steve had was the best goddamn thing to ever happen to Danny, and he’d be damned if he would let Steve throw it away based on emotional insecurities. He would fight it. They would fight them together. “You should have deduced from some dead phone calls that someone was going to beat me up, and threaten to hurt Gracie, then try to hold us at gunpoint, all to get back at you for something you put his brother away for six months ago? Not even you could have made that jump, Steve. Stop living under these fucking superhero illusions.” Danny wrapped his arms around Steve again. “This wasn’t your fault.” He repeated.

Steve grabbed Danny’s biceps, desperate to hold on, afraid Danny would be taken from him, afraid he would leave. “I couldn’t stand it if you hated me, resented me.”

Danny squeezed his eyes shut, kissed Steve’s temple again. “Oh, babe. I could never hate you. You push my limits, scare the shit out of me, and get on my last fucking nerve, but I could never. Ever. Hate you.” Danny pulled his head back but kept his arms around Steve. “Look at me. Open your eyes, and look at me.” Steve did as Danny commanded, his hazel eyes wet and unsure. “I love you. You hear me? I love you. Grace loves you. I would never blame you for someone else’s actions, no matter the connection.” Danny crushed his mouth against Steve’s, reassured when he finally felt Steve kiss back, felt passion in the other man’s mouth and embrace.

“Danny.” Steve whispered his name over and over in between kisses.

“Steve.” Danny relaxed, knowing he had pulled Steve out of himself and back to him. “Take me upstairs, Steve.”


End file.
